Light of a Shadow (StingxOC)
by o0Aella0o
Summary: All she wanted was to escape the ties of responsibilities and fear, to run away from her past and her life. All Sting wanted was happiness. With the throne soon in his hand, he wishes to find a final glimpse of freedom before being locked in the palace, bound by a tournament for his marriage, but through it, he unexpectedly meets more than he's willing to bargain for.
1. Prologue

Life is a funny thing.

It runs on so many mechanisms relying on energy, movement, and a harmony of all things to keep it balanced and running. It's strong, able to push through the toughest of times, yet it's also able to be snuffed out with a precise cut to a vital organ.

With a single motion, life can just end.

* * *

The booming chatter of the party below hid the grating sound of a metal blade against its sheath. The ceilings were lit bright with glowing lanterns, and extensive tables laid with food dotted the center of the grand hallway. Women were all dolled up in extravagant kimonos, the lengths of their skirts tumbling down in multiple layers of dyed silk, their faces painted pale white, lips crimson red. The men were dressed in equally expensive clothing, though not as complicated; their robes hung simply around their bodies in single bold colors.

At the center of the hall sat an old, short man. He was clearly the head of the palace with that air of self-confidence and command; there was no doubt he was the king. By his side stood two boys, one with bright pink hair, the other with dark blue.

The figure hidden on the beams of the ceiling support drew a sword from the sheath by the waist and as the figure leaned forth a bit to gain a better view, a peak of dark hair slipped in front of her mask and out of the hood.

"This is going to be hard. I don't understand why he set it to this date. A party of all days," a feminine voice grumbled.

Slowing standing up from her crouching position, the girl re-sheathed her blade and instead drew out a thin needle from the breast pocket of her shirt.

"There's no need to cause a huge commotion. The bounty is high, and thank heavens I'm not killing the King. That would be a bit too much."

The cloaked girl swung her eyes around the area, surveying every movement. Finally pinning her view onto a broad man with a string of large, red beads on his neck, she pressed her lips into a thin line. "Jiemma. Looks like a douche. Not surprised why my client would want him gone."

Leaping gracefully between the beams, the girl kept her steps silent, her figure completely hidden by the shadows.

Landing on a crossbeam, the girl brought a thin pipe to her lips, inserted a needle, aimed down and blew.

From her sleeve, she quickly dropped something from the soon-to-be dead body and quickly wriggled herself through a space in the roof, her fast feet taking her somewhere far away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jiemma, who had been standing just fine was in the middle of a conversation, a glass of snake wine balanced carefully between his pudgy fingers, smirked down to the cowering girl beneath him and was about to grab her roughly by the waist when something pierced him in the neck.

A dark ink seemed to take over his body starting from that point. His veins turned a gruesome black spread to his body as his torso and appendages began to convulse. His face broke out into large boils and the guests around him could only watch in horror as his body shriveled like a slug in salt, until it was no more than a lump of bubbling pain.

A hush filled the once busy hallway and the king stood up startled. The boy with pink hair that was by his side shot up on his feet as well and dashed over to the dead body.

"Lord Natsu," the crowd murmured and made way for him.

Natsu bent over Jiemma and rolled his head back. Peering closely at his neck, his fingers soon found a small bump hidden beneath the skin and with a harsh tug, a silver needle was pulled out.

Just as he had removed the needle, a purple object drifted down from above him and landed right onto the torso of Jiemma. By this time, his father, King Markov had made his way over.

With trembling hands, Natsu picked the object up.

It was a nightshade, its petals a deep violet with a small golden bulb peeking from the center. The nightshade was not a common flower as it was poisonous and quite small.

Natsu wouldn't normally minded flowers falling from the sky; he wouldn't have given it a second thought, only a small reminder to maybe rehire another party decorator, but this occasion made his heart stop cold.

The nightshade was a symbol of death, left behind on the bodies killed by the assassin Shade.

* * *

A few miles away from the party, the girl was still running, her black cloak billowing behind her in the wind. Smiling to herself, she whistled and soon enough, a small cat with wings swooped down beside her and landed on her shoulders.

"How's the scouting of the next target?"

The cat rolled its eyes and retorted, " I only got the request. Something about a tournament and a princess. Apparently he wants to hire you out. It's in the kingdom of Fiore."

The cat paused for a moment to let it sink in.

"Fiore. Are you sure?" the girl asked.

"Yup. Raven Tail wants you to fight for his kingdom in the tournament. Win win. He gets the princess, you get the you know what. And if you want to break the deal because of whatever you find in Fiore, there's no problem."

"Sly one aren't you?" the girl chuckled.

"I only learn from the best."

A/N this is only a there is enough interest, I'll keep on posting.


	2. Swindle and Ships

"Why exactly are we hosting this?"

A man well into his fifties tugged on his beard and let out a sigh, readjusting the crown that was falling from his head. "Sting, I've told you this already. It has come time for you to get married. We're holding the tournament to see which kingdom's daughter get's to marry you."

"So it's a political marriage."

"I thought you already knew from day one."

The young man standing in front of the king ran his hand through his blonde hair and let out a stressed breath. "I thought that you said I wouldn't get married until I was twenty-seven or something. I'm only twenty now! Besides, once I marry, don't I take the throne? I want to marry out of love, not because you can't manage your political affairs with the other kingdoms."

"Sting," the king said, his eyes flashing dangerously, "being born into royalty means this and you know that. We need a political tie in order to stay strong. Fairy Tail has been on the rise recently and with our large borders, we need to keep the land of Sabertooth safe as well as Fiore. Besides, I heard that Raven Tail and Scarlet have beautiful princesses."

Sting threw his hands up in despair. "That's beside my point. My point is-"

"You will marry and the tournament will carry out. No objections."

Biting back on his tongue, Sting bowed stiffly before marching out of the hall. As he rounded the corner, he jumped as the shadows melded into a human figure.

"How was the talk?"

"Rogue, you heard it all. Please, that shadow in the corner was you."

Rogue lifted his hands up in surrender and shrugged. Pushing his black robes up his sleeves, he shrugged, "Sorry, brother. I couldn't help but eavesdrop."

"Eavesdrop?" Sting grumbled, "More like intrude on a conversation."

Clapping Sting on the back, Rogue graced one of his rare smiles. "It won't be that bad. Think about it like this. If you really do find someone you love later, you always can just marry her. You're not forced to only have one wife. It;s just that you can only have one queen."

"I'd rather only have one queen," Sting hissed at his brother. "You don't understand. I want to marry just one women and that women better be someone that I love. I don't want to be tied up with a prissy little girl who only cares about what dress she's going to wear or what jewelry is most expensive. Half the princesses in the entire world are like that now. I need someone who can support me and advise me, not some useless baggage."

Not even waiting for Rogue to reply, Sting stormed off.

* * *

"How much am I going to get paid for this?"

"Two-hundred thousand jewels," came a slimy reply.

"I still don't understand this," the girl replied, "The tournament in Fiore is for the marriage of the prince. Sabertooth's princess is still too young. She's only eight. It'll be at least seven more years until she marries"

"Shade," a chuckle echoed through the dingy room, "that's not the point. With a brain like yours, I expected you figure it out. With this marriage, my daughter gets to get married to Sting Eucliffe and our kingdoms will be tied together. Sabertooth is on the decline. They won't admit it, but inside information has told me that their kingdom is slowly dying. That's the whole point of this tournament. They need another kingdom to aid them. You win this tournament for us, we weasel our way into Sabertooth and merge it completely under Raven Tail's rule. The princess you ask? Just a side toy for one of my younger sons. He's taken a fancy toward her."

Shade slowly tapped her fingers on the side of her mask. It was a rule of hers never to face clients with a bare face.  
"Seems like two-hundred thousand jewels is a bit shabby."

"Shabby? I would like to think of it as a good deal. You're not killing anyone."

"That's the problem," Shade snorted, "I'll be exposing myself to the public for at least a week. That's dangerous considering I'm kind of a wanted criminal."

"Five-hundred thousand."

"Three million," she retorted.

"Sorry, we can't do that sum."

Shade shrugged and stood up from her chair. "Guess this deal is off. I still get my hush money of one hundred thousand."

The figure before her seemed to hesitate before speaking. "Two million. That's the most I can do."

Grinning wickedly, Shade extended her arm out.

"We got a deal."

* * *

Natsu was livid. He prided himself as a military general and securing the palace had been one of his jobs during the ball. Letting a known assassin enter the room, kill an honored guest, and get away with it was not on his list of hurrah moments.

"Can you believe it?" Natsu growled pacing furiously around his room while his half brother Gray Fullbuster glanced at him lazily. "He just dares to walk into one of the most esteemed places in the continent, slaughter someone, and have the guts to walk away and let us know? I don't get it!"

Gray watched his brother with an amused smile. "It's Shade. It's not like you could have done anything. Stop moping. The Shade does whatever he wants to; he's like a nomad. You have more important things to be worried about, like dear sister Lucy."

"What about it?" Natsu questioned, puzzled.

Gray got up from his chair and rolled his eyes. "Not surprised you don't know anything. Why are you the older one again?"  
"Shut it, Ice Princess."

"As I was saying," Gray said tightly, "Sabertooth is holding a tournament for Sting Eucliffe. The prize wasn't very clear, but many are speculating that it's for marriage. Not sure if it's for the princess or him, but it's a marriage for sure. Most likely for Eucliffe. He's about age."

Natsu crossed his arms. "Then why are they holding a tournament for a prince? Shouldn't it be for the princess?"

"Sabertooth has been weakening. Not everyone wants to marry into their family. With a tournament, it's suggesting you're giving up your child to the winner, not the other way around. Politics, brother."

Gray smiled and pointed to the door. "By the way, Father should be calling you soon to talk about the tournament. He wants to merge Sabertooth with us. No matter how much shade you throw at them, their military is still very impressive. You're going to be fighting, I believe.

Better do well. Lucy has taken a fancy to Prince Eucliffe ever since that ball a few months back."

A light knock interrupted their conversation and Gray gave a wave to Natsu. "Oh, look. Great timing. Have fun, flamebrain!"

* * *

A few hundred miles away on the southern coast of Seven, a girl was happily jangling a large bag of what sounded suspiciously like gold. She skipped along the cobbled harbor street, stopping occasionally to peer into the seaside shops.

"Nox, what did you think of my swindling skills? I didn't think that they would believe that my skills were worth that much. I was going to only ask for a million at first."

The silver cat beside her rolled his eyes before replying. "Ciara, if your swindling skills were actually good, you would have convinced them to pay up ten million. Two million is hardly enough for your traveling fees and your appetite for this month."

"It's plenty. It's not like I'm going to destroy anything valuable like last time. Besides, I think I have enough saved for a nice room on the ship. Last trip, we had to sneak in and stay in the baggage area. Horrid stench of fish."

Ciara stopped short of the pier and wiggled her eyebrows playfully at her friend. "Stop complaining about money or I'm not going to get you any food for the next week."

Gracefully leaping from the wooden platform, Ciara gently landed onto the floor of the ship and extracted a smaller bag from beneath her cloak before slapping it into the hands of a very confused shipowner.

"Miss, we don't have any rooms left on the ship. I apologize. I know we had made reservations for you, but a very important guest had requested a room and we had no power to deny it."

Ciara leaned in dangerously close, snatched the satchel of gold from the shipowner and waved it in his face. "Do you know," she growled, "how much is in this bag? Pure gold coins worth over half a million jewels. We had an arrangement for the nicest room if I forked over a little more cash. Now please go tell that bonehead who took my room to scram or I'm going to have both of your heads."

The shipowner wrung his hands in distress. "Miss, our company never does this kind of business, but we were on the order of the royal decree, so as citizens of the kingdom, we have the obligation to follow orders."

Ciara backed off and squinted her eyes at the shipowner. "Spineless. Screw the kingdom," she said with a soft snort. Tossing the bag over to the helpless shipowner, Ciara walked past him in dis contempt.

Walking up a small flight of stairs to the second floor of the boat, Nox trailing after her muttering something along the lines of " _this is a bad idea",_ she stormed up to the door of her supposed room. In front of the doors were two, burly guards who looked down at her, arrogance painted in the eyes.

"Lookie here girly. The Prince of Fairy Tail has no time for fangirls right now," one of them said.

"Fangirls?" Ciara hissed. "This is my damn room that he took from me and I want it back. I'm not going to sleep on the ground on the ship deck because some measly prince decided that he couldn't book a room in advance."

The guards narrowed their eyes and tensed up.

"For the love of god," Ciara said, "get out of the way."

With one swift move, he slid right in between the guards and smashed the door open with her shoulders. As she stumbled into the room, a cold hand grabbed her by the neck.

"Who are you?"

Ciara spun out of the grip and was met face to face with a scowl.

"Prince Gray," the guards gasped, "we-"

"This my room so get your royal arse out," Ciara said bluntly.

Gray rose a curious eyebrow. "You could get a few years in jail for saying that."

Flipping him off, she tossed him a small bag and nodded for him to open it. Gray cautiously tugged at the strings and peered inside. Diamonds and precious gems.

Lifting his head, he said, "Did you steal this?"

"I earned it," Ciara shot back. "Now please, that's enough to cover the room and more. Get another room to bother with."

"Who's this?" Another person entered the vicinity, this time a man with pink hair.

"Natsu, you like this room?" Gray said without taking his eyes off Ciara. Natsu shrugged his shoulders, but didn't say anything. Ciara crossed her arms in annoyance and glared at the pair in front of her.

"I thought that the royal family would be a little more cautious in traveling. Getting a room on one of the fanciest ships in one of the fanciest rooms doesn't sound like a very good tactic to me."

Behind Gray, Natsu bristled at her comments. Jabbing at himself with a thumb, he hissed, "You're talking to one of the military commanders here, or do you not even know your own government?"

Sending a brief, uninterested glance at Natsu, Ciara redirected her gaze to Gray and pointed a thin finger at the small bag still in his hand. "Let the money do the talking. Deal or not? Or am I going to have to kick you out and make a bad name for you guys?"

Natsu gaped at the girl in front of him. She was blatantly insulting one of the most important figures in the country and she still ahd the guts to threaten him?

"Listen up. I don't give a fuck who you are or what you think you are. Get your ego off this ship and away from my face before I burn you on the spot. I don't give a damn if I kill a girl," Natsu spat.

"Funny," Ciara said, "it looks like your going to burn up yourself with your face so red."

"Enough," Gray said pushing the two away from each other. Ciara and Natsu had began edging closer and closer, their hands balled up into tight fists.

Tossing the bag up the air, Gray said, "Keep the money and you can have the room. I'm sure there are other rooms in the lower floors that someone else would be willing to give up. There's no point in making a scene now, especially before the tournament."

A/N  
Lackluster chapter, don't worry. I'm just building some background for now.  
First meeting between Ciara and the Fairy Tail group. Sting should be next chapter I hope.  
Give this story and heart and a comment :3  
Also, happy finals week. Rip.


	3. The Elf

"Can you believe it?" Ciara grumbled to Nox. "The nerve of him!"

Her exceed crossed his arms in exasperation. Knocking a paw onto her head, he said, "It's the royal family. Common folk take their word for law. If you want to blend in a bit more, try acting more . . . normal. Peasants don't go around sauntering around on a fancy ship yelling at the crown prince."

Tossing him a slab of salmon off of the dinner tray, Ciara retorted, "It's not like he's ever going to see me again, and I doubt that he's going to do anything. All mouth, no work."

Nox sent her a disgusted look. "This is why I had to pull you out of so many dangerous situations. You need to learn how to keep your mouth shut sometimes. It's a wonder how you're still alive, running your mouth on like that. Last time when you were cornered and I had to come save you, my tail was stuck with wire for days."

Ciara threw her arms up in the air in protest. "Okay, you may have a point, but all those people are dead!"

"You're not killing the crown prince," Nox warned.

"Of course not," Ciara replied, offended, "Though if he irritates me more, I may consider it."

Hopping onto the support beams of the room, Ciara squatted on one foot and squinted out of the small, round window. Night had already fallen and the skies were clear. Wrenching the glass out of it's panel, Ciara slid out of the room onto the roof of the boat.

Shivering slightly at the ocean wind, she wrapped her cloak a bit tighter around her before lying backwards and letting out a deep breath of satisfaction.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?"

Ciara shot up, hand by her waist where she kept her poisoned daggers. Her pulse sped up and her muscles tensed as she whirled around. A few feet from her sat a hooded man, his jacket edges trimmed with silver. Tufts of blue hair peeked out of the hood and upon taking a closer look, she noticed a golden symbol on the left breast of the cloak.

"The Elf," she snarled.

If the Shade was a monster of legends, the Elf was in the same boat. The Elf was a name given to the unknown persona for his beautiful way of killing and apparent good looks. Unlike she, who left bodies badly mutilated or the crime scene in a mocking matter, the Elf was a bit more elegant leaving his murders clean with a single clean wipe leaving nothing but a thin gold sheet cut into the shape of something that looking quite close to Fairy Tail's enigma. Ciara didn't know if he was just ripping them off or scorning the kingdom .

"So you've heard of me," the man quietly said.

"Who hasn't?" she slapped back. "Please, I've seen enough articles about your killings. You're as wanted as the Shade, and that's saying something. in my opinion, the Shade is much better, no offence. There was an article the other day i was reading in the newspaper comparing the two and the writer was comparing the both claiming that the Elf at least had some class when killing. Pulease"

"Are you self-complimenting yourself? Seriously?" the Elf deadpanned.

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Most people run away if they recognize a known assassin. And to compliment the Shade? That could land you a lifetime in jail. Besides, I know that the Shade is a girl."

A small voice floated behind her. "Told you that mouth of yours would kill you. Honestly, be glad that your job doesn't involve talking. You have the communication skills of a five year old."

"Says the one who can't lie his way out of anything," Ciara hissed out of the edge of her mouth. "Nox, why are you up here?"

The man stood up and brushed his knees. Pulling his hood back, she was met face to face with handsome features and a red tattoo.

Curling her lip, Ciara huffed. "So what exactly is going to happen now? Trying to kill me? Did some royal empire try to hire you because I killed off one of their offspring? Let me guess, it was Lamia Scale. No? Mermaid Heel?"

The Elf shrugged and lay back down, closing his eyes. "I'm here on my own accord. I've got a job to run in Sabertooth. Besides, I think it's interesting to meet someone of my own kind."

"Of your own kind," Ciara repeated, "What is that supposed to mean?"

He lifted a lazy eye and peered at her curiously. "I think you know what I mean."

After a brief moment of silence, he asked, "What's your name?"

"Shade."

He slowly shook his head, "No I mean what's your real name?"

"Names hold power," Ciara said, "I'd rather not say."

"Jellal," he offered.

"Sorry?," Ciara asked, confused in where the conversation was being directed. "Is that a word in a language I don't know?"

The Elf chuckled at her comment, thought she didn't think there was anything to laugh about. "My name is Jellal. I gave you my name, how about yours?"

She pursed her lips before reluctantly opening her mouth.

"Ciara. Nice to meet you."

* * *

As soon as the ship landed on the ports, Ciara hopped off of the ship and into the Kingdom of Sabertooth. Though a festive look painted the streets, there was still a glum mood hanging in the air. The cobblestone streets were falling apart and the outer walls of the city were crumbling. As if to add to the poor image, it had began to drizzle, not enough to soak her, but enough to make everything damp.

"Where are you headed," a deep voice said.

Ciara nearly jumped out of her skin and glared at him after she saw Nox give him a high five. She had thought herself to be a master of stealth, but there were multiple times in which Jellal had snuck up on her, many times out of his own amusement. Her exceed, Nox, who had taken a disliking to Jellal at first out of suspicion, later became best pals with him after discovering his skill to startle her.

"Nowhere of your concern," she snapped back, "And you trying to creep up on me isn't going to help you find out any way."

"You have to admit," Nox remarked, "he got you good. This is the first time in my life I've seen you like this. Who knew that the almighty Shade would be so-"

"Shut up, Nox, before-"

"Before what? You fall over because Jellal over here scares you?"

Ciara grabbed the roots of her hair and tugged them in frustration. Her exceed was playful and meeting someone who had the same kind of sick humor (read pranking Ciara or anything that made her mad) was double trouble.

"You," she exclaimed pointing her finger accusingly at Jellal," are the worst. I have to deal with this brat my whole life twenty-four seven and now you come along and add to it!"

Throwing her hands up in part anger, Ciara stomped away and slammed a golden coin in the palm of the guards who sent her a confused look. Whipping her head back around , she snarled, "Are you going to stand there all day like morans? I already paid for you, so move your butts before I decide to take these beggars in with me."

Not waiting for a response, she shoved past the gates and ducked into a shady corridor. Flipping the hood of her cloak up, Ciara climbed a stone flight of stairs to the rooftop of a building and squinted her eyes against the rain.

There it was in the distance.

Saberthooth's castle.

The castle was a dreary grey much like the rest of the kingdom and Ciara was starting to wonder if they had the same architect design everything because it would certainly explain the same bland pattern.

Small, red festive flags were dotted around the castle and even at this distance, Ciara could tell there was a multitude of guards surrounding the area. With a tournament soon, it was no wonder why they had so many.

"Nox," Ciara called out softly, "Hurry up and leave Jellal. I'm sure he has his own business."

"If you do plan to get into Sabertooth, I suggest you don't head straight in through the front door," a deep voice said, right behind her ear.

"You!" Ciara screeched.

Jellal stumbled back clutching his ear in pain. His hood was still down, and the rain had matted his blue hair down. Ciara's face burned red as she realized how close he had been to her.

"Would you mind?" she snapped.

Groaning, Jellal muttered to Nox, "I can see when you say she's loud. For someone called the Shade, I expected you to be more calm and deathly."

"I am deathly," she scoffed. "I bet I've eliminated more people than you."

"Really," Jellal said, rolling his eyes, "You want to go there? Besides, I was trying to help. There's no way you're going to get in through the front. I know you like flashy, but with the increased security, I doubt that even I could get in, and I'm much better at stealth than you."

Taking her hand and moving it to the west, Jellal said, "Try there."

"Where," Ciara grumbled scrunching her eyebrows together.

He let out a sigh and repeated, "There. At the training grounds. I;m sure you'll find better results."

Letting go of her wrist, he drew his hood over his head and jumped down from the roof. As he landed and started to walk away, Ciara scrambled to the edge of the roof and yelled, "Wait, I never asked why you're here."

He didn't say anything, but only raised a hand in goodbye.

* * *

"Did you hear?" Rogue whispered in his brother's ear, "The Shade struck again, this time in Fairy Tail. He's been inactive for a few months and just when everyone thought that he was gone, he came back."

"Rogue, please pay attention to the meeting, not gossiping like your sister."

"Yes, father," Rogue grumbled back.

Sting tapped his fingers against the marble table, trying to tune in to the current discussion. War plans and boring politics. Why were they planning a war when the tournament was only two weeks away? In Sabertooth's dire circumstances, he doubted they had any resources to try to start a war.

"You are all dismissed."

Sting pushed his chair back and abruptly stood up. He had been avoiding his father ever since his blow up in the throne room, and despite his father's best efforts to talk to him, Sting refused to budge.

"Sting, a moment please," his father commanded.

Ignoring him, he proceeded to walk out to room and head toward the fighting grounds. Perhaps he could release some of his stress onto a practice dummy before he was driven over the edge.

Gripping the leather handle of his sword, Sting charged at the straw figure in front of him before unleashing a devastating blow. The dummy was shredded into pieces as he continued to slash it in aggravation.

Why couldn't anyone understand?

Why couldn't anyone want to see that he didn't want to be king? He wasn't fit for the job like his brother was. Rogue had a better temper, strong diplomatic skills, and book smart.

Sting didn't want to be ties down by the role of royalty. He didn't want people to bow down to him or look at him in fear whenever he walked by. He didn't want to be respected for doing nothing.

His father only wanted to hand down the throne to him because he was older. From when he was a child, all he wanted to do was leave the castle and explore, and the closest he could get to that was by being a military officer. It was the closest thing to freedom he could get

Sting tried to push down the rage bubbling in his stomach. The marriage had reminded him of all the responsibilities that he carried and the knot would be the end of his independence.

Letting out a venomous growl, he brutally stabbed the next dummy in the head and let out tired huffs. Wincing as he looked around, Sting noticed that the had nearly demolished the practice zone. All the practice targets were hacked into piles of hay.

The rain pressed down harder as if feeling his dim mood and as he was about to go for another round, a girl's voice startled him.

"I think that there's no more dummies to practice on."

He turned around furiously to find the source of the sound, but there was no one, only the howl of the wind and the light patter of rain. A chill ran up his spine to the nape of his neck as he heard a humorless laugh.

"Try behind you."

Sting grabbed one of his daggers he always carried with him and pointed it to the throat to the perpetrator. After a moment of silence, he blinked.

It was a maid.

The maid looked back at him before clearing her throat and nodding her head to the blade at her neck. "Could you, please? I don't think I would like a bloody cut."

Slowly withdrawing his weapon, Sting narrowed his eyes at the stranger, "Who are you. How did you get here?"

The maid shifted uncomfortably and bit her lip, "Sorry, but the King was looking for you when you left. I assume you don't want to be bothered. I mean . . ." she trailed off and waved her hand at the mess of mutilated hay.

"I won't tell him you're here," she offered and tossed him a towel, "but you may want to get back inside. Cold rain plus a human means a cold."

"How did you get in here. Only members of the royal family and army have the clearance to enter," Sting said, a cold edge creeping into his tone.

The maid pointed her finger to the spectator seats as if to say 'duh'. "I can see that you're here without entering,"she hesitated before adding on, "I just thought you could use the towel. I don't think that you'd be heading in anytime soon."

Sting softened. Letting a polite smile through he nodded in thanks. "You have my gratitude."

"By the way, I thought that you could use magic. Why are you using a sword?" the maid questioned.

Sting peeked at his weapon he had thrown down when grabbing his dagger. "I can. The whole royal family can and multiple members of the army. I just wanted to blow off some steam."

"Try to stay somewhat dry," the maid said. Giving him a quick bow, the maid hurried off.

* * *

"Stupid maid outfit," Ciara griped as she peeled off the wet dress from her skin. "How is anyone supposed to move around in this! It's starchy and sticky and absolutely ugly."

Tossing the dress onto the unconscious maid she had stolen it from, Ciara rummaged through the royal laundry room in hopes of finding clothes that would be comfortable and still blend in.

"Just stick with the maid look. I doubt any other females other than the maid could walk around the palace without raising a question," Nox said with his paws over his eyes.

Ciara unwilling picked up a clean maid dress and with a grimace on her face, put it on.

"The royal crown prince," she mused between her thoughts. "Interesting guy we have on our hands."


	4. Royal Responsibilities

"Are you going to be in the tournament or not?" her exceed Nox questioned a little concerned. "That man from Raven Tail didn't exactly give you all the details."

Wringing water out her dark hair, Ciara shrugged. "I dunno. He didn't specifically state that. All I know is that I'm supposed to make some ruckus and trouble for the other contestants. A little food poisoning here, some weakening spells there, make someone accidentally commit a crime. If he does want me to fight, I'm going to demand a higher payment."

She peered into the mirror hanging on the palace bathroom walls and rubbed off a spot of dirt near her nose. "I'm not sure if I would be willing to. Even though by rules, kingdoms can send any representative and that person will be safe, I can't be sure as soon as the tournament ends, I'll be killed."

Leaning back and straightening her shoulders, Ciara turned to Nox and said, "Besides what Raven Tail wants, you know what we came to Sabertooth to do. I've been planning this for years, so while the whole tournament thing is nice, we have to stay focused."

Nox nodded and sighed. "God knows how long you spent on it. Are you sure you want to pull through? It's quite risky, even for you."

Pulling her hair into a maid hat, Ciara replied, "Of course. Doing it can't be that much harder than killing famous politicians, can it?"

* * *

A few minutes later, a 'normal' palace maid ducked out from the common bathroom and headed toward the doors to the courtyard. The rain had slowed to a lazy drizzle, and the clouds had finally begun to clear. The first rays of sun wiggled its way out and Ciara smiled. Nox had hid himself in a small, obscure closet that would become their room for the next week or so or until the tournament was over.

Settling herself on a stone bench near the koi pond, Ciara tucked her knees in and took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was sure no one would intrude here. She had hopped the ceilings of the palace and this garden was in the back-most corner of the grounds away from all the rooms.

The garden also looked untended meaning that it was awhile since anyone had stepped foot in here. There was little chance security or the royal family would come.

Getting on her feet and onto her tiptoes, Ciara stood tall on the bench and locked her fingers together. Raising her arms up to the sky, she let out a long yawn and stretched outward feeling her back muscles relax much to her satisfaction.

She held still in that position for a minute and just as Ciara was going to sit back down, a voice badly startled her.

"What are you doing here?"

Ciara had long let her guard down, so the sudden noise sent her turning around rapidly, her hands on her waist where her daggers were located.

Taking a step forward to run, her foot met empty air and she went crashing down.

Half her body spilled into the koi pond before Ciara managed to catch herself and landed the other half of her body painfully onto the rough, concrete ground.

"What the hell!" she groaned.

Picking herself up and examining her bleeding scrapes, she snarled, "What were you thinking startling me like that?"

She whipped her head up to be met face to face with blonde hair.

Ciara's face morphed into surprise. "Sting? Sorry, your majesty? What are you doing here?"

Sting's eyebrows shot up. "I could be asking you the same question. How did you find this place? The only way to get here is by secret passage."

Ciara coughed and her eyes flew over the scenery, hoping to find a way out of this conversation.

"The tree," she said pointing to a tree she had been sitting near a few moments prior, "I fell out of it. From the window over there. I was curious because the place looked old. I've been back a few times because it's relaxing here. Away from the bustle of castle life."

Sting stared at her for a few moments before bursting out in laughter. "You fell out of a window, then a tree."

She stared back at him as he continued to laugh, now clutching his stomach in pain.

"Geez," she mumbled, "You would have thought I said a joke or something funny."

Sting sobered up a little and in between gasps, he replied, "I'm sorry. I've had a rough day and what you said, it's just unbelievable." he paused before asking, "Are you the maid from earlier today?"

Ciara froze. Opening her mouth slowly, she formed her answer carefully. "Yes. I seem to have a habit of trespassing territory, don't I?"

Waving his hand in dismissal, Sting motioned for her to sit. Taking a seat next to Sting, Ciara peered at him when he did not speak for a long time.

He looked up at the sky in what seemed like sadness. "You're so lucky to have freedom, you palace maids. It may seem like childish complaint, but the royal life isn't so glamorous."

"Really?"

Sting nodded and let out a stressed sigh. "The responsibilities that come with it are scary. As soon as you're born, you're expected to be perfect. You have to listen with a closed mouth, run affairs that don't matter to anyone but greedy politicians, and pretend you like everyone. That's why I left to be a war commander. There's a better sense of..." he struggled with words, "I don't know, but it feels better."

Ciara tilted her head in confusion. "But isn't that the sacrifice? You deal with snobby people and that's it. you don't deal with starvation and poverty. You live an amazing life with people waiting on you hand and foot and all you have to do is sign papers. Most decisions are made by others who leave the people to slowly die."

Sting sent her a sideways glance. "Daring you are with your words. You do realize you are talking to someone who takes a hand in those decisions."

Shrugging, she said, "I don't really care. I used to think that the royal family was great until I came here to work." Lies mixed with truth were spilling out of her lips at this point. "Old men just sit at tables arguing over what will make them rich. There's no concern for the citizens. Taxes are raised so queens and princesses can wear dresses made of golden silk and kings can eat feasts for every meal."

She turned to him with a serious face. "You're not like that, are you? You haven't called for anyone to kill me for treason or decided to stab me with that dagger of yours."

Sting's had instinctively flew to his weapon concealed by his jacket and grimaced. "I can't stand for my family and advisers, but there is a level of disgust. I thought that I could escape that world by the military, but with the marriage coming, there is no way I can run now."

Instead of receiving a better response, like Sting thought he would, Ciara shot back in a colder tone, "You're the problem. You want to change Sabertooth? Why don't you take up the throne and change the system? Instead you sit here talking to a poor maid like some lame puppy."

Anger that should have bubbled inside of him never rose. There was only a hollow echoing of fear.

He watched as the maid abruptly stood up from the stone bench, scaled the tree and hopped into the balcony of the nearby window without sparing him a second glance.

* * *

"Royalty," Ciara sniffed scornfully, "Always complaining how their life is terrible when all they have to worry about is if their meat wasn't braised right or if their wine wasn't aged long enough. How dare he complain about feeling contained."

She angrily tugged the maid hat off her head and flung it onto the ground.

"And this closet! Couldn't you have found at least one where I could lie down? When I asked for a closet bedroom, I didn't mean literally! There are plenty more storage rooms that you could have chosen that are ten times the size of this!"

Nox smirked at her. "I like to see you mad. There's one I picked out that's the real one, but it smells funny. Why are you ranting about the Sting guy anyway?"

"Sting? Why are you talking to the prince. Doesn't seem like your style?" a voice breathed into her ear

Letting out a shriek, Ciara whirled around and swung her hand out in defense, hitting a very solid body.

"Jesus," a voice winced, "Do you go around hitting everything you see?"

"Jellal?" Ciara screamed, her voice one octave higher than before.

He chuckled, rubbing his stomach in slight pain. "Thanks for asking. How are you?"

"Nox," Ciara hissed turning onto her exceed, "did you tell him that we'd be here?"

Nox shrugged and shot her an accusing look. "You think that I'm like that? I didn't find him. He found me when I was wandering around. Don't know why he's here."

"You," Ciara growled, stabbing her finger into Jellal's chest, "what are you doing here. I swear by now, I would think that you're stalking me."

"You sure it's not the other way around?"

He held his hands up in surrender when Ciara began to narrow her eyes and he sighed. "Like I said before, I had some business in Sabertooth. Palace looked like a nice place to stay, so why not?" he shrugged.

Ciara gave him a frosty glare before turning away. "Stay away from me. I don't know who you really are and you feel like bad news."

* * *

Natsu was sitting on the guest bed in Sabertooth's castle. All royal families visiting were given courtesy rooms and although he did enjoy the gesture, Sabertooth's rooms were a bit cold.

The walls were stone, the floor was stone, the windows were large and leaky next to the balcony, and the only remotely warm object nearby was the fireplace.

Falling back onto the covers, Natsu twirled the nightshade between his fingers.

He hadn't thrown the flower out. He should have.

Natsu didn't know why, but he couldn't compel himself to toss the flower out the window or in the garbage. There was some force forcing him to cling onto the nightshade like it was a lifeline.

It felt so familiar, like a long-lost friend.

"What am I doing?" he mumbled under his breath.

Suddenly, he heard a thump coming from the balcony, so he stood up straight, alarmed. Poised and ready to move, he slowly crept to the balcony and flung the window open.

No one was there, except a blonde figure sitting alone on a stone bench near a disturbed koi pond and a half mangled tree that was waving in the air despite the lack of wind.

Prince Sting Eucliffe.

Natsu scrunched his eyebrows and quietly shut the windows.

Strange, the thump must have been his imagination.


	5. Nightshade

"Please tell me why you're here," Ciara hissed through her clenched teeth. "Last time I checked, you aren't supposed to be here."

Jellal scrunched his nose. "Who said that. I said I had business in Sabertooth. I didn't know that you'd be staying here as well."

Poking him in the chest, Ciara snarled. "I'm telling you to stay away from me. Far away. I don't like you. You're to carefree for your own good."

Rolling his eyes, Jellal pushed her back. "Stop being over dramatic. I'll stay out of your way. I have more important matters than talking to a second-class killer."

Ciara's eyes popped open at his words. "Second-class killer? Who has more wanted posters? Me! Who has a higher bounty? Me! Who makes more headlines? Me! Who are you calling a second-class killer? I think you're the second class killer here."

Jellal's previous mood suddenly took a dip. "So is this what it means to you? Wandering around the earth and killing for fun? Because it pays well? Because you're famous?"

Ciara opened her mouth to send back a snappish reply, but found herself biting her own tongue. He wouldn't understand her reason.

Pressing her lips into a thin line, she turned her back to Jellal and growled, "Just get away from here."

As if deaf, Jellal continued to question. "Taking a life is not a game. It's not something you can fall back if you lose. We're doing the Devil's work: killing for money. I'm not sure what motivated you to sell your soul to this. Girls like you should be at home instead out in the rough world."

"I hope you heed my warning and leave," Ciara said, her voice taking a hard edge. "I have my reasons and you have yours."

Jellal shrugged and started to walk toward the exit of the room. Just as he was about to step out, he stopped, turned his head and called back, "By the way, if I'm right about what you're here for, the treasure room isn't the right place. Try the throne room."

Ciara's hands went cold.

She bolted to door. "What do you mean?" she yelled. "Where are you?"

There was no one, only an empty corridor with a familiar golden sheet drifting to the floor.

* * *

Breakfast was one of the meals Sting always dreaded. Mealtime in general he always hated.

It wasn't the food; the royal kitchen provided delicious food. It was the awkwardness of the family setting. His mother had required for each main meal to eaten as a family with his father, Rogue, his mother, and him at the table saying their prayers.

It was ten times worse now that the tournament was starting. Dinner had became a main event every night and he was the the front of the table like an object, sitting there with his crown, uncomfortable, expensive clothing that itched his skin, and the most fake smile plastered across his face as he entertained the guests.

"Good evening, Prince Dragneel," Sting greeted as he bowed stiffly.

The pink hair prince sent back an equally rigid bow and smiled painfully. "Same to you, Prince Eucliffe. How have you been. Excited for the tournament?"

Sting forced his smile wider. "Elated," he said flatly without enthusiasm, "Very elated. I can't wait to see the final results. Are you fighting or have you sent another delegate for your kingdom?"

Natsu tipped his champagne glass back and drained the drink in one shot. "I'm fighting myself. It would be a shame to Fairy Tail if I didn't represent."

Curling his lip, Sting nodded as if he agreed. "Yes," he drawled, "it would be a shame indeed."

Hesitating, Natsu then broke his formal mask and leaned in. "Just a question, do you know of the Shade?"

Raising his eyebrow at the sudden turn of conversation, Sting replied, "Yes. I heard he left his mark on Fairy Tail a few weeks prior."

"Have you ever been . . . or at least been near a Shade incident. You know, where he leaves the flower?"

"Not that I recall," Sting said, puzzled at the question.

Natsu licked his lips, nervous. "Never mind then. Forget I asked."

The Fairy Tail prince gave Sting another quick bow and placed his glass on a nearby tray. "A pleasure to talk to you this night. I'm sure we'll see each other more often these weeks."

* * *

"Jellal, Jellal, JELLAL," Ciara screeched. "Why does he keep on following me?"

Nox, in the corner of their stolen room, shook his head. "If I didn't know better, I would have thought you had a thing for him. That's the only thing you have been talking for for the past hour."

"What the hell, Nox?" Ciara grumbled. "That asshole, having the nerve to tell me I kill for fun. As if."

Nox quieted down as he knew where the conversation was going. "It's not like he knows. I mean, everyone assumes stuff. Keeps us alive. I'm sure he was just trying to provoke you."

"Provoke my ass."

"Just out of curiosity," Nox questioned, "are you going out. Like _out for a job?_ If you are, you didn't bring your flowers."

Ciara shook her head. "That's not today. Raven Tail didn't want to send me out too soon. I'll be going out tomorrow, but I'll be heading out to scout the area."

Nox snorted at her response. "Knowing you, scouting means passing by the kitchen and picking up some food. If you do, mind stealing some caviar? You never buy any for me because you claim it's too expensive."

Fluttering to on the of the ceiling beams in the room, her exceed shot her a sly look. "And before you can complain," Nox said, "I stole another maid uniform for you, so you can't go running around the castle in your normal clothing."

* * *

"Stupid Nox," Ciara grumbled under her breath. "First requesting me to take some expensive royal-ass food for him, then taking away my excuse to wear normal clothing for once."

Curled her fists, straightened her back and started walking. Ciara had placed a stack of towels in her arms to appear less suspicious and more like a maid on duty.

It was already nighttime, and her stomach knew it. Ciara was unable to snatch a meal from the royal kitchen earlier. Absentmindedly, Ciara wandered through the palace hallways mentally drawing out the pathways in her head.

It was dark and the lull of the pattering rain almost drew her to sleep. It had been a long few days, and Ciara hadn't had a proper night sleep. Despite the crackling lightning and the rumble of the storm, her drowsiness was enough to dull her senses.

"I should have told Nox to do this instead, or perhaps stalled until tomorrow," Ciara mumbled tiredly.

She stopped by on of the larger window panes, quietly dropped the towels on the ground beside her and stretched out, yawning silently.

Feeling her eyelids droop, Ciara pinched her side to keep her awake.

Suddenly, the window beside her swung open and the pelting rain hit her back, soaking her in an instant. Eyes now wide open, Ciara spun around, her hands on the waist near her daggers.

It was a prince.

A prince with pink hair.

"Natsu Dragneel?" she blurted without thinking.

* * *

Natsu had decided to take a walk out after the stuffy dinner. The thought of the Shade wasn't going anywhere and as much as he tried to distract himself, the assassin wasn't leaving his mind.

The nightshade was tucked in his pocket, and Natsu was careful not to crush it. The poison from the flower was enough to leave a grown man sick for weeks if not dead.

He had a interesting conversation with Prince Eucliffe, and as much as Natsu wanted to swallow Sabertooth into Fairy Tail, he couldn't help but feel bad for the crown prince. Sting and Natsu were well acquainted with each other meeting one another on the battle and in diplomatic meetings. Although they had not been on friendly terms in their meetings, Natsu wanted to extend his sympathy.

It must feel like shit giving up your kingdom to another.

Much to his luck, Natsu had passed out on garden benches (thank you alcohol) and was only awoken by finding himself drenched and a loud crack of lightning near his ear.

The doors closest to him were locked, no surprise there. Based on the lighting, it was past eleven at night, and with the tournament on, extra security measure would be taken.

Cursing, Natsu stumbled along the muddy garden ground, desperate to find an entrance.

There it was: a window a few hundred feet away from him. Running in full sprint, Natsu dashed over to the large window, smashed the lock down with a hit of his fist, and slammed the window open.

What he didn't expect was a cry of shock. As he tumbled into the castle hallway and landed on his back, he was met face to face with a maid standing next to a pile of towels.

"Natsu Dragneel?" the girl sputtered.

"Sorry, do I know you? You look familiar," Natsu said in between gasps.

The maid bit her lip and shook her head.

Wringing his clothing and hair out the best he could, Natsu narrowed his eyes at the girl. "Are you sure? You look familiar to a commoner I faced a few days ago on a ship."

The maid bowed deeply and in a shaky voice, she replied, "I'm sorry, your majesty for addressing you informally." The maid picked up one of the towels beside her and handed it to him, avoiding eye contact.

"Thank you," Natsu said slowly, drying himself the best he could.

"Look at me," he then said.

The maid lifted her head, her eyes darting elsewhere.

He was right. This girl looked very familiar to the annoying woman he had argued with on the ship, except there was one key difference: their spirit was different.

When he had been yelling at the ship girl, there was a stench of danger and death, like he was facing a beast he couldn't defeat. There was an overwhelming sense of pressure that Natsu had to swallow when talking with her.

The maid, on the other hand, was meek, tiny. There was no aura of menace, nothing that screamed for him to run away.

Natsu relaxed and his hand slipped back into his coat pocket to push the nightshade back. The flower had slipped out halfway on his desperate run indoors.

Tipping his head, Natsu gave the maid a half smile. "Thank you for the towel once again."

With that, he walked away.

* * *

Ciara stood still, the dirty cloth in her hand. As soon as Natsu had disappeared from her sight, she dropped the weak maid facade and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She had to suppress her killer instinct so the prince wouldn't speculate her true identity.

"Why does he still have the flower on him? One wrong move handling that plant and your life is on the line."

Neatly folding the towel and placing it back onto the pile, Ciara picked up her load and continued her night scouting.

 _For many, the star of the poison plants is the nightshade. Most people have heard of deadly nightshade even if they have never seen it. The combination of its ability to kill with its use to beautify by dilating the pupils gives it a romantic attraction which is hard to beat. Its name, 'belladonna', comes from its use by Venetian women to make themselves 'beautiful ladies' by causing their pupils to dilate._

 _May death make you beautiful._


	6. Knowledge

Sting found himself back in the secluded garden. As much as he didn't want to admit it, part of him hoped that the maid that he had met the other day was there. He had mulled over her words and he had noticed that while he disagreed with her in some points, he still enjoyed her company. It was refreshing to have someone to talk with that spoke to him as an equal.

It would still be a few weeks until the tournament officially started and Sting had tried avoiding any contact outside of forced meetings. Diplomatic greetings were forced through his teeth and meals were dreadful. It took all of his willpower not to punch another royal in the face when they gave him their blessings.

As if.

All they wanted was a stake in Sabertooth, another plot of land to suck resources dry from.

This day, supper had gone extremely poor. The Fairy Tail Prince Natsu dipshit Dragneel thought it was a good idea to accidentally to spill wine all over his ruffled collar shirt in front of all the important representatives of the kingdoms. It had taken all of Sting's willpower not to smack the arrogant flamebrain the the head with a nice magic filled punch.

Sting abruptly stood up, kicking his chair back in the process, slammed his goblet down on the dining table and stiffly turned away. Before he exited the room, he swept a chilling gaze over the guest and with a rigid bow, Sting slammed the door behind him.

Frustration that had welled over the week suddenly began to bubble uneasily in his stomach like the meager scraps of his dinner was forcing their way up his esophagus. He couldn't breathe like his throat was closing up.

Sting knew what was happening.

He cupped his face and ran all the way to the secluded garden. He was finding himself here more and more often throughout the festival, perhaps because of his moodiness. The garden seemed to calm his nerves.

 _Hoping to see that maid again?_

Sting pursed his lip and settled himself down onto the stone bench, trying to bite back tears. As if sensing his mood, the dark clouds that had been looming over the castle on and off all weeks were clumping together, and the air turned damp.

The rain started pouring soaking Sting down to the bone. Thunder boomed heavily in the background indicating that this storm would not be passing by soon. The droplets picked up turning into sheets of drenching rain.

 _"At least my shirt will be clean,"_ Sting thought humorously.

He didn't know how long he stayed out there. It was already pitch black when Sting began to feel his bones ache, but he didn't want to return back to the castle. Knowing royalty behavior, supper was still probably on.

Suddenly, a fluffy lump fell onto his head and he turned his face around in surprise, his heart racing. No one was supposed to be here.

It was the maid again.

She was under a navy umbrella, looking unimpressed and a stack of towels tucked under her arms.

"I think that I told you that rain wasn't good for your health. How long have you been out here?"

Sting shrugged, his shoulders slumped. He gratefully tried rubbing the water out of his hair, but to no avail. The rain was still coursing down like an icy waterfall steeping the towel wet.

The maid took a seat beside him and silently shared the umbrella over his head.

"I brought you the towel to tell you to get back inside. The festival can't run with a dead prince."

"Dead my ass," Sting retorted, bitterness lacing his words. "Sabertooth will be dead by the time the tournament is over. Sabertooth and the kingdom be married off to another kingdom under my name. Father thinks this is the only way to save the citizens considering how bad our country has been doing these past few years. War is taxing."

The maid tilted her head at him in curiosity. "And what's your opinion? You're a major general, aren't you? What's with all the major wars recently?"

A grimace on his face, Sting stared straight ahead and answered. "I can't say much, but it's not very honorable. All I can say is that we're fighting for knowledge." He was careful with his words, cautious not to reveal classified information to an ordinary worker. This plan that Sabertooth had been working on for a few decades was not going to waste because of a maid who couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"What do _you_ think about it. Not what the King thinks, not what your peers think, not what the old, boring generals think. What are your true thoughts on the wars?"

Sting closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

Sabertooth had always been a strong military kingdom, never losing a major war in recent war, and there was a little lucky secret behind it.

The Akashic Records.

Fragments of the record had been said to be scattered around Earthland when the magic scribers were transporting the mass book of knowledge to a new place. Back then, magic users were not common, only those who had access to the records were able to utilize magic. Most modern mages today were feeding off of fragments of information from the original generation who had full access to the Akashic Records.

This was why the most powerful mages were often part of royalty, families who tended to have scraps of spells and techniques of extremely powerful magic. Dragon slaying magic had actually came from the Akashic Records. Sting didn't know a single other dragon slayer who wasn't part of royal family: the only way to learn the magic was to be born into royalty.

"You know, humans try to chase for knowledge," the maid said suddenly. "We go around our entire lives yearning for some closure, like we want to know everything in the world. Look at any other living organism: they care for nothing else but to live. We, on the other hand, want to constantly discover something more powerful, just so in the end, we can destroy one another. Human instinct is really funny."

"Why would you say that," Sting asked.

The maid paused. "Aren't wars fought so one can get more resources, so in the future, they can just go out once more and destroy another. Don't tell me that wars are fought to protect citizens; they're fought so the King can feel superior to others because he has more lands, more gold, more jewels."

"A bold choice of words. I can't say I disagree. War is old men talking and young men dying," Sting said in a tired voice.

"Do you think that there's a book out there that has all the knowledge in the universe written on it?"

Sting froze.

The maid turned to him, her eyes sparkling with the idea. "That would be amazing. Maybe all kingdoms would stop fighting if that knowledge was shared with everyone!"

There was a slight edge in her tone that made Sting set himself on guard. There was something off of the girl, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

 _"Stop this,"_ Sting scolded himself, " _She's a simple palace worker."_

With a dry mouth, Sting forced himself to reply. "Yeah, that would be cool, but I think kingdoms would slaughter each other for that knowledge."

By now, the rain had slowed from the raging thunderstorm to a steady patter. The maid stood up, shot him a wink and whispered, "Promise you won't tell on me for using some magic. It'll cheer you up."

"Go for it."

The girl waved her hands and slowly, tiny lights began to fade into the space around the courtyard. They were like tiny fairy lights, orbs of luminosity that cast a soft, warm glow along the brick walls.

Between the rain and the gleam, a spiral of sparkling radiance filled the courtyard with the most brilliant glittering patterns.

It was simply magical.

Unexpectedly, the clock tower rang with its booming gong twelve times signaling it was midnight.

The maid straightened up. "I got to go. Duties call."

Sting watched with interest as the girl scaled the tree in the corner of the garden and as she was about to jump over the wall, Sting called out, "You know you could just use the normal entrance. No one else but me comes here anyway."

The maid pivoted on the tree branch and smiled at him. "Meet here at ten at night then?"

Sting nodded quietly.

"See you then."

Alone in the garden facing the twinkling lights, Sting felt like he was supposed to feel happy, and he was, yet there was a slight nagging feeling in his spine.

The entire time in his conversation, there was a chilling buzz in the air, almost like a muted killing aura.

He slid his fingers through his blonde hair. The stress of the weeks were playing games on him.

* * *

"He knows about the Akashic Records," Ciara mumbled to herself as she rushed back to the room Nox and she had decided to set up camp.

"Most likely, all of the kingdoms know about them too. The reason Sabertooth hasn't fallen out completely despite their economy faily miserably is because they still have magic to hold everyone off. If I can get my hands on-"

Footsteps beside her own echoed in the corridor in front of her, and Ciara's heartbeat spiked. Waving her fingers in front of her, she cast an invisibility spell and pressed herself against the wall.

Voices grew louder and Ciara held her breath and she strained her ears to listen.

"I told you not to pick any fights, Natsu. As much as we are rivals with Sabertooth, it still important we maintain good diplomacy with Sabertooth. You know why we are attending. We win, we get the Records."

A nasally, annoyed voice returned. "I never understood why Gramps was so set on finding the entire stupid records thing anyway, Gray. What are we going to gain? I thought the scribe shit was just fantasy."

Caira picked up a frustrated sigh.

"Fairy Tail and Sabertooth are the only two kingdoms that have powerful Dragon Slaying magic. If we gain more, we could take over the rest of the countries. This will be a partnership with Sabertooth. Despite the poverty, the royal family still has many military secrets we could utilise."

"Did Gramps set you up for this?" Natsu replied.

"No one set anyone up for anything. I don't understand you Natsu. You have the responsibilities of continuing Fairy tail's legacy. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to seize such power. Why can't you-"

"Hush," Natsu said unexpectedly.

Ciara smushed herself tighter against the wall hoping to meld herself into it. Had they heard her?

"Do you feel that?" Natsu said in a hushed voice. "This raw atmosphere. Something dangerous is nearby."

 _"My aura is expanding out again,"_ Ciara cursed in her head. She had trouble containing it without full concentration and by tuning into the Fairy Tail conversation, she had lost track of her pressure.

"Let's go."

Ciara waited with a bated breath and as soon as she heard their footsteps fade away, she slipped down the hallways and back to her room.

There was information she was going to need to review.

" _The Akashic Records,"_ Ciara mused, _"It seems Sabertooth knows the location."_


End file.
